Mikal Bridges of the New York Knicks played a big role in the 108-105 overtime win in Game 1 against the Boston Celtics, and his corner 3-pointer was huge, putting them up 106-100 at the time. On the broadcast, it looked like a normal corner 3-pointer, but upon slowing the footage, it looks like he got a fortunate bounce off the top left corner of the backboard.
I cannot believe Bridges banked in that corner 3.
Didn’t realize it in real time, but Mikal thanked the basketball gods for it in his postgame comments.
And here’s the video evidence – off the top left corner! 🤪 pic.twitter.com/C6Rairyp3V
— Rit Holtzman (@BenRitholtzNBA) May 6, 2025
It still is hard to tell from just the broadcast angle, but Bridges confirmed in the post game media scrum that this shot banked in, and he thanked the “basketball Gods” for his and the Knicks' good fortune.
“Just staying with it, you know, missing a lot of shots that I'm upset with myself about missing,” Mikal Bridges said in response to a question from Barbara Baker of Newsday. “The basketball Gods blessed me from just keep staying with it, because it banked, it banked, so. I don't remember the last time I banked in a corner 3. Yeah just, the basketball Gods, man. Just looking out.”
Article Continues BelowAnswering question from @meanbarb I believe. pic.twitter.com/1fW24uRrwS
— Rit Holtzman (@BenRitholtzNBA) May 6, 2025
The shot went a long way toward helping the Knicks get the win in Game 1. Bridges made a big impact down the stretch, not only with that shot, but with his rebounding a defensive effort in key moments. There was one instance in which he tipped a missed shot back out for a second opportunity. He also had two key steals in the overtime period, one in which he saved a ball from going out of bounds, and another in which he stole the ball from Jaylen Brown to seal the Knicks' win.
The Knicks came into the series as big underdogs largely due to their performance against the Celtics and other elite teams throughout the season, but a Game 1 victory signals that they might not be the easy out that many expected.